From the Other Side of the Mirror

It was three in the afternoon when Emily finally arrived at her friend's house. Karla and Lucía were already there, eating snacks and watching television. Naomy invited her to leave her suitcase in her room and join the group. Her mother would have lunch ready by 4:00 PM.

Karla was the one most engaged with the movie. She got excited during action scenes, complained when the protagonists fought, and felt happy when there was a bit of thrill. Naomy mocked her friend for being so dramatic.

During lunch, out of habit, Karla prayed and blessed the food, which earned her even more teasing. For a brief moment, Karla cried. After the meal, accompanied by Juan and his mother, the girls went out for ice cream. They strolled near the park by the neighborhood parish.

As if she were five years old, Lucía hopped on one of the swings, which prompted the others to do the same, annoying the mothers of small children who watched them with clear disapproval and anger.

Upon returning home, more activities followed: board games, absurd dancing with Naomy’s music, and Juan even gave away some clothes he had acquired. Lucía got excited over a blue dress that looked like Cinderella’s.

"Be careful with what you say, Lucy," Karla commented. "I'm sure Juan got it through one of his shoplifter friends, and stealing is a sin."

"Don't you talk to me like that, kid," Juan defended himself against the attack. "Don't mess with my carnales*. They would never steal."

Juan snatched the dress away and tore it, handing it back to Lucía as he left the room, offended. Lucía glared at Karla, blaming her. She had really wanted that dress. Karla felt bad once again; she felt like the outsider.

But she said nothing. This group was her only set of friends—the ones who tolerated her faith. Besides, with them, she could watch movies or listen to music that wasn't allowed at home, and she had a lot of fun doing it with them.

After dinner, the group put on their pajamas, and the real activity they were there for began. They locked themselves in the bedroom, and Naomy showed them the magazine.

Emily was excited and wanted to leaf through the magazine, to read it and see the drawings and photos. Lucía focused on looking at the new mirror, imagining herself wearing that torn dress. Karla only wanted to rest and sleep.

Emily and Naomy saw the article about the ritual they were interested in. It read as follows:

"This ritual must be performed during the night, between 12:00 and 3:00 in the morning. It must not be interrupted, and everyone involved must repeat the same phrase.
It is well known that mirrors are magical and that, under certain circumstances, they can reflect the future. For anyone who wishes to know the future, they must do the following:
Approach the mirror; it must be an oval, full-length mirror. The room must remain in total darkness; there must not even be electric light from the street. Use a lamp to reflect the light. You must recite aloud..."

"I AM NOT RECITING ANYTHING!" Karla shouted before her friends could say a word. "I'm sure this must be some kind of heresy."

"If you don't want to do it, then don't," Naomy scolded her. It was 2:30 in the morning. She had been startled by the shout.

"It's a game, Karla, it’s not that big of a deal," Emily commented, annoyed at being interrupted by her friend.

Karla looked for support from Lucía, who remained silent with a single thought: going to bed to keep sleeping.

"Let’s just get this over with and go back to sleep," Lucía responded reluctantly.

Emily took a step foward her friends. She began to read again the mgazine and found the words she needs to tell. 

"Sweet mirror, show me your owner, I wish with all my soul to see the future. I promise I will use the information to please you."

Lucía and Emily quietly repeat the same phrase with excitement and a touch of fear. The lamp's light reflected in the mirror, but nothing more. Karla was trembling. Lucía was yawning. But nothing happened. "How boring" thought Emily.

The light from the lamp kept pointing at the mirror, but nothing happened. They waited, but when Lucía complained, the four of them went to sleep. No one read the warning at the end of the article. To the group, it was just a silly game. Emily compared it to the absurd curses in horror movies.

The next morning, the group started looking for what to wear. There was still a lot of new clothing that Juan had given her. Lucía and Karla got ready using the clothes they had previously brought from their homes.

"What are you two supposed to be doing?" Naomy asked them while still in bed in her pajamas. "It’s Sunday; we can stay in our pajamas all day."

"My mom is coming for me in a bit," Karla explained. "Today I have to go to mass."

"Dad will pick me up after breakfast," Lucía said while finishing her hair. "I promised I would study."

"How boring!" complained Naomy, who finally got out of bed to see what she would wear.

Emily entered the room. She had finished showering and wanted to go out for barbacoa*  breakfast. During that moment, the friends had fun and laughed, forgetting their worries.

Naomy teased Emily, commenting that she’d soon need to go buy a couple of bras because, compared to her own body, Emily already had enough going on. They placed bets on who would be the next one to get their period.

"What about you, Emily?" Naomy said with a mocking air. "When are you going to say yes to Bernardo?"

"Stop bothering me," Emily said, smiling. "We're just friends. Besides, he smells weird. I don't like him."

"Emily, you should..." Lucía started to say, trying to join the conversation.
For a brief moment, she thought she had seen something in the mirror—a tall shadow that seemed to stay there, watching her for a second.

"What should I do?" Emily asked, waving her hand in front of her friend.
The voice of Naomy’s mother invited them downstairs for breakfast. The chilaquiles with eggs* she had ordered had arrived, and the friends went down to eat.

Welcome to mexican slangs and vocabulary. In this episode we have 3 words that can be confused if you aren't from Mexico. Here I come with the meaning.

Carnal, in plural: Carnales: basically, mexican slang for friend. If someone says, My carnales, in spanish, mis carnales, basically is saying my friends
Barbacoa. Wikipedia says:  in Mexico, refers to the local indigenous variation of the method of cooking in a pit or earth oven. It generally refers to slow-cooking meats or whole sheep, whole cows, whole beef heads, or whole goats in a hole dug in the ground, and covered with agave (maguey) leaves. Don't confuse with barbecue
Chilaquiles: Another mexican traditional dish. It is basically made with hard tortillas as main ingredient. Salad and spicy sauce, usually green or red. It can be accompined with meat like chicken or like in the chapter, eggs, usually fried.